UNITED LOSE OUT ON PREMIER LEAGUE AWARDS
Manchester United’s trio of players – Phil Jones, Romelu Lukaku, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan lost out to Sadio Mane in the running for the Player of the Month for August while Mourinho came up short against Huddersfield’s David Wagner despite his side winning all three while scoring 10 and conceding none. Mourinho also adjudged the decision to exclude Nemanja Matic from the shortlist of players as harsh given the Serbian’s impressive start to life at Old Trafford.
UNITED SEND SCOUTS TO BENFICA
Manchester United have reportedly sent scouts to Portuguese giants Benfica to keep an eye on the up and coming talents emerging there. United scouts were in attendance in Benfica’s 2-1 win over Portimonense but it is yet to be determined who they were watching. They could potentially be keeping an eye out for Serbian winger Andrija Zivkovic who impressed. The 21-year-old is expected to have a breakthrough season in Portugal this term and Mourinho may want to remain up to date on developments. Scouts from Monaco were also in attendance.
JOSE WANTED PEREIRA TO STAY
Jose Mourinho revealed that he wanted Andreas Pereira to stay at Old Trafford and continue his development under the watchful eyes of his scouting team. Pereira instead joined Valencia on a season long loan deal. Mourinho admitted he was disappointed but did not want to stand in the player’s wishes. Mourinho said: “Andreas Pereira was a personal decision, a decision I don’t agree with, a decision I don’t think honestly is the best decision for him, a decision that disappoints me a little bit because I think he has the potential to be fighting for a position, fighting to for opportunities and to be a Manchester United player.”
IDEAL PARTNERSHIP
Marcus Rashford wants his partnership with Romelu Lukaku to be similar to the one between Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke in the late nineties. The pair have linked up well in the first few games with their interaction on the field reminiscent to the Cole and Yorke pairing. The latter pair found the back of the net an astounding 53 times in the Treble winning season and if Rashford and Lukaku reach somewhere close to that mark, United will have more than a fighting chance at winning the Premier League and a domestic cup.
On his partnership with Lukaku, Rashford said: ““It’s just clicked, we’ve got that understanding,” he said. “We’d never met before his arrival, and we didn’t know what each other was like. But when we got on the pitch together, we just knew where each other was.”
SHAW CONTINUES COMEBACK
Luke Shaw stepped his recovery from an ankle ligament injury by starting the Reserves game against Arsenal last night. In another boost to Jose, he completed the full ninety minutes but could not prevent United from slipping to a 2-0 defeat. Shaw was solid defensively and can be expected to make his first team comeback in the EFL Cup game against Burton Albion.